AFL 2016: Matthew Pavlich hits back at calls to make drug test results public

Fremantle stalwart Matthew Pavlich says suggestions voluntary AFL drug testing results should be made public are "bewildering" and that the issue needs to be governed by experts rather than pretenders.

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"This is not a policy we simply made up. It's been developed, reviewed and updated based on sound knowledge and experience. From the real experts on the topic, not the pretenders. Both for medical reasons and as a deterrent.

"The answer is that it would achieve nothing. It just feeds the voyeuristic nature of people who have nothing better to do than talk about others. It also creates false perceptions. Would they be happy to submit to testing and have their results published?"

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Under changes to the AFL drug testing regime introduced late last year, urine, hair and target-testing take place for AFL players year-round.

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The system incorporates a three-strikes rule. The penalty for a first strike is a $5000 suspended fine. A second strike attracts a four-game ban and public naming and shaming, while the third strike incurs a 12-match suspension.

Matthew Pavlich is out of the Brisbane clash because of a groin injury. Photo: Getty Images

But the Collingwood players were reportedly implicated by off-season hair tests, which don't form part of the strike system and instead inform AFL drug testers, who then may choose to target test players.

Collingwood has disputed the figures attributed to it in testing and Pavlich labelled the focus on the Mapgies "unfair."

Pavlich said players should be lauded for their role in creating the drug testing policy rather than slammed for the results it might reportedly produce.

"This workplace policy makes the AFL one of only a handful of industries that tests employees — being the players only — for illicit drugs," Pavlich wrote.

"Most other industries that test for illicit drug use are primarily based on workplace safety for people performing roles with heavy duty equipment.

"And ours is the only one I am aware of that tests when employees are away on holiday.

"By agreeing to this, players have opened themselves up to extensive media coverage of their perceived drug use, and whether we are doing enough on the issue of stamping out illicit drugs.

"The players should be commended for committing to an illicit drugs policy, not condemned and shamed as seems to be the flavour of the month."

The 336-game veteran reiterated the AFLPA's long-held position that a zero-tolerance regime would not work and that education allowed players to make better decisions - both during and after their football careers.

"Players are not immune to the same difficult circumstances, anxiety and lifestyle choices that are constantly bubbling away in the community," Pavlich wrote.

"At times societal pressures are amplified due to the scrutiny, demands and expectation of professional sport.

"As an industry we owe it to the young men of our game to ensure they leave the game as better people than when they walked in. This includes teaching them how to make good decisions.

"If we don't do this and take a zero tolerance approach, then I guarantee the problem will be a much bigger one when they eventually leave the game.

"These young men would exit the industry and be put in an environment where for the first time in their life they are without structure and schedule, while dealing with the stress and pressure of making the transition from a career and life they lived and breathed, into the unknown.

"Which means that a zero tolerance policy is reduced to being a short-term brand fix or reputational management tool, without one thought to a player's welfare and long-term health."